Kirbyville School District in Texas Gets Green with New Energy Management System

By eSchool News

August 17th, 2009

The Kirbyville Consolidated Independent School District (Kirbyville CISD) in Kirbyville, Texas, is implementing $575,000 in facility enhancements designed to improve operations, comfort and efficiency in its facilities. TAC by Schneider Electric, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric, will complete the work as a performance contract with the district. TAC guarantees that the Kirbyville CISD will reduce its utility costs by $58,000 annually when the project is completed in December 2009.

The Kirbyville CISD serves 1,500 students on three campuses in this southeast Texas community. The lack of a central energy management system (EMS) made regulating the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) difficult, and rising utility costs were cutting into the district’s budget.

“After meeting with TAC and learning about their success with other area school districts, we felt confident about choosing them for this project,” said Richard Hazlewood, superintendent, Kirbyville CISD. “The new EMS will lower the energy costs and improve our facilities without requiring us to raise taxes or pass a bond.”

Performance contracting offers many long-term benefits for school districts, such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection. Typically, new, more efficient equipment and upgraded facility automation systems maximize energy efficiency and generate utility savings. TAC guarantees the amount of savings performance contracting projects will achieve and agrees to pay the difference if that amount is not realized.

TAC will install a single EMS to monitor and control the HVAC and related mechanical systems in seven Kirbyville CISD buildings totaling more than 300,000 square feet. The EMS will allow the district’s facility management staff to efficiently operate all the buildings from a single workstation, saving natural resources and money.

“Students, faculty and other staff at Kirbyville CISD will enjoy a better learning and working environment as a result of the new EMS,” said Shon Anderson, vice president of sales, TAC Energy Solutions. “Comfort levels should improve and remain constant and staff will be able to make sure the heating and cooing is used only when and where it is needed. The money they were sending to the utility companies will now stay in the district.”

About TAC

TAC, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric, is a leading provider of solutions that deliver measurable business results to customers by enabling them to do more with less energy. With over 120 years of experience in the HVAC, energy and security arenas, TAC employs more than 8,000 people worldwide, with partners in 80 countries. TAC’s parent company, Schneider Electric, is the global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, offering integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centers/networks. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company’s 114,000 employees achieved sales of more than 18.3 billion euros in 2008. For more information, visit www.tac.com and www.schneider-electric.com.